During the Holidays we take out all of our favorite dishes and silverware and set a special table. Here’s a quick and easy craft to add a little customized glamor (glitz?) to your traditional table setting.
Entertaining
It’s not a lot to look at, but it’s just wrong how good this tastes. Raclette is a close cousin of Swiss fondue, but it’s even simpler, consisting of just two ingredients: cheese and boiled potatoes. But what a cheese: called Raclette (from the French racler, to scrape), it’s a mellow, meltable Alpine cow’s milk […]
Maybe it’s because I’m a child of the 70s, but I love a good dip. Not the old blend of sour cream and dried soup mix (I said a good dip), but something rich and flavorful to dip my chip in or spread on a cracker. (I guess I could call them spreads to sound […]
Here’s a video about how to make on of my very favorite seasonal cocktail snacks. This time of year, black figs are at the peak of their unique flavor, and stuffing them with a little tangy goat cheese, wrapping them with salty prosciutto and grilling (in a grill pan or outdoor grill) or broiling them […]
If I’m having more that about six people for drinks, I like to set up a self-service bar so I can enjoy the party too. Here’s how. Cheers!
This is the first of a series of short videos about one of my favorites times of day –the cocktail hour. Whether it’s the prelude to a dinner or at a cocktail party, I think sharing a drink and snack is a great way to relax, catch up with old friends and meet new ones. […]
In spite of a name that suggests a complex confectionary achievement of tsarist Russia, Pavolva is an Australian dessert (and some would say the Australian national dessert) with distinctly Australian virtues — it’s fresh, unfussy and lots of fun. Named after a famous Russian ballerina who visited Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s, the […]
Our outdoor dining table in Southampton was looking a little bare, so I quickly put together a long-lasting, neglect-proof centerpiece with pots from the garden center and some spiny cactus. See how in my second video!
One of the great consolations of winter –from people who know a lot about winter– is Swiss cheese fondue. It’s so simple –really just good cheese melted into wine– and yet it’s one of the most outrageously delicious and completely satisfying things I’ve ever eaten. And it’s a festive dish: the fragrance from the communal […]
Has anyone ever been disappointed to get a bowl of French onion soup –topped with crusty bread and bubbling melted cheese? I never have. Soup is good food –warming, comforting, virtuous– but it’s rarely something I get excited about eating. For me, though, a good French onion soup is a special event. Here’s a nice […]
